Request: Dark mode based on brightness level

C

charliemac1467399

New member
Hello Minix Team,

I would like to request a feature that allows to the device to automatically go into dark mode based on a preset brightness level. For example, dark mode at 30% brightness. Thank you.
 
armadillo said:
I believe that Dark Mode is a feature of the phone, not the Minix unit.
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It's not. Android Auto uses your car's (in this case the CP89-HD) ambient light sensor to switch to dark mode. The CP89-HD currently allows you to set a schedule for the system to go into dark and light mode. I want it to automatically go into dark mode when the system's screen brightness is low.
 
I think you may be confusing the Minix's night/day mode with the phone's dark/light mode. I don't think the Minix can switch the phone's dark/light mode. The Minix just adjusts the screen brightness based on ambient light.
 
charliemac1467399 said:
It's not. Android Auto uses your car's (in this case the CP89-HD) ambient light sensor to switch to dark mode. The CP89-HD currently allows you to set a schedule for the system to go into dark and light mode. I want it to automatically go into dark mode when the system's screen brightness is low.
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Minix is a regular "external" screen for your phone (Android Auto or CarPlay interface) that shows what the phone gives it. It is not an independent device that can decide when and what to do in the Android Auto or CarPlay interface.
 
Alex66 said:
Minix is a regular "external" screen for your phone (Android Auto or CarPlay interface) that shows what the phone gives it. It is not an independent device that can decide when and what to do in the Android Auto or CarPlay interface.
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I know what I'm talking about. As far as I know dark mode in android auto can only be controlled by the vehicle (minix). Google has removed the option to control dark mode using your phone in developer settings. My android auto switches to dark mode at 6pm and light mode at 7am because I've scheduled it to that on the minix. I just need the minix team to respond to this thread to see if they can use the ambient light sensor on the device switch modes when it reaches at certain brightness.
 
As I have mentioned to you before, you are confusing two issues:

1) Android Auto has its own Light and dark Mode. To switch between light and dark mode in Android Auto, open the Android Auto app settings on your phone, navigate to "Day/Night mode for maps," and select "Day," "Night," or "Automatic". This setting controls the theme of your map display while driving, allowing you to force a consistent dark or light appearance.

2) the Minix has two modes: "Day Light Mode" and "Night Light Mode". You can set the times at which these modes are activated. This is what the Minix manual states:

Display - Brightness: This page allows you to manually configure the maximum brightness of the screen under Day Light Mode, and the lowest preferred brightness under Night Light Mode, and the time range to launch the Night Light Mode. You may leave this page untouched as CP89-HD comes with an ambient light sensor that adjusts brightness automatically according to the brightness around the device.

So the phone is responsible for the dark/light theme of the map and the UI elements and the Minix can additionally adjust the minimum and maximum brightness of the Minix display. The Minix CANNOT change Android Auto's dark/light theme.
 
charliemac1467399 said:
..............I just need the minix team to respond to this thread to see if they can use the ambient light sensor on the device switch modes when it reaches at certain brightness.
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I highly suspect that the light sensor has no software connection to the shell. It's an electronic backlight brightness control system. Technically, brightness is adjusted by varying the current (analog) or by PWM dimming (flickering), which changes the ratio of the LED on and off times. This process is not connected to the shell.
 
Guys, please allow the Minix Team to respond to this thread so that all of this can be put to bed. I just need them to tell me it's not possible. They are the ones who designed the product. Thanks!
 
Alex66 said:
I highly suspect that the light sensor has no software connection to the shell. It's an electronic backlight brightness control system. Technically, brightness is adjusted by varying the current (analog) or by PWM dimming (flickering), which changes the ratio of the LED on and off times. This process is not connected to the shell.
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the sensor is on the top of the housing, you can actually see it from the external.
 
MINIX - Ken said:
The mode is determined by the smartphone, not our screen.
We have no control, like another user said earlier.
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I am so confused right now. My smartphone's mode is independent of the Minix. My phone is currently set to light mode but Google Maps on Android Auto goes into dark mode at the scheduled time on Minix. My phone's brightness slider (see attached photo) moves when it senses more or less light. Is it not possible to control dark mode on Minix when brightness reaches a certain level?
 

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I know you are confused. In fact, I explained what you confused about in post #7 above. Let me try one more time:

Display Brightness: This changes the overall brightness of any display. This applies to your phone (the sliders in your control center you mentioned). This affects all apps and will not change the mode of an app (dark or light appearance of your browser or your maps, etc.). Just like your phone display, the Minix display can also change its brightness if you set to auto-adjust in the Minix display settings (you can also set the max/min brightness). Again, this brightness does not affect any mode of any app you might have installed. Think of the Minix display as a simple monitor attached to your phone like a display monitor attached to your PC. Changing the brightness of your PC monitor won't affect anything on your computer's applications. Note that within the display settings, you can configure the maximum brightness for Daylight Mode and the minimum for Night Light Mode, plus set a time range to activate it. On top of that, you can manually toggle this setting.

Dark/Light Mode: This is a software feature of both Mac and PC OS appearance and many apps have such modes as well. In dark mode, the OS and the apps that have it will switch to dark window backgrounds and invert text to white to reduce eye-strain. Google Maps (and Apple Maps as well) will darken the maps. Dark mode switch can be invoked manually as a permanent appearance at any time regardless of ambient light or it can kick in at a certain fixed time or variably based on sunset time.

Display Brightness and Dark/Light mode are separate and do not activate in parallel (although they can be synchronized). I assume that this may add to your confusion. I suspect that you may set your Minix display to Night brightness to the same time as for the Android phone's Dark mode and you may therefore think that one causes the other. But that's just coincidental. You can test that by simply changing the Minix Night mode to 3 pm and leave your phone as is.

I hope I could remove some of the confusion. But rest assured that that the Minix is nothing mor and nothing less than a regular monitor display without the ability to control anything on your phone.
 
armadillo said:
I know you are confused. In fact, I explained what you confused about in post #7 above. Let me try one more time:

Display Brightness: This changes the overall brightness of any display. This applies to your phone (the sliders in your control center you mentioned). This affects all apps and will not change the mode of an app (dark or light appearance of your browser or your maps, etc.). Just like your phone display, the Minix display can also change its brightness if you set to auto-adjust in the Minix display settings (you can also set the max/min brightness). Again, this brightness does not affect any mode of any app you might have installed. Think of the Minix display as a simple monitor attached to your phone like a display monitor attached to your PC. Changing the brightness of your PC monitor won't affect anything on your computer's applications. Note that within the display settings, you can configure the maximum brightness for Daylight Mode and the minimum for Night Light Mode, plus set a time range to activate it. On top of that, you can manually toggle this setting.

Dark/Light Mode: This is a software feature of both Mac and PC OS appearance and many apps have such modes as well. In dark mode, the OS and the apps that have it will switch to dark window backgrounds and invert text to white to reduce eye-strain. Google Maps (and Apple Maps as well) will darken the maps. Dark mode switch can be invoked manually as a permanent appearance at any time regardless of ambient light or it can kick in at a certain fixed time or variably based on sunset time.

Display Brightness and Dark/Light mode are separate and do not activate in parallel (although they can be synchronized). I assume that this may add to your confusion. I suspect that you may set your Minix display to Night brightness to the same time as for the Android phone's Dark mode and you may therefore think that one causes the other. But that's just coincidental. You can test that by simply changing the Minix Night mode to 3 pm and leave your phone as is.

I hope I could remove some of the confusion. But rest assured that that the Minix is nothing mor and nothing less than a regular monitor display without the ability to control anything on your phone.
Click to expand...
I get your point but you're not entirely correct. Monitors only output display. The Minix is not just a display, it's interactive. When dark mode is set to "Automatic" on Google Maps in Android Auto, it relies on the hardware of your vehicle, which in this case happens to be the Minix device. In a previous Android Auto version, there was an option to select between "Vehicle controlled" and "Phone controlled" dark mode in developer mode but Google later removed it. When you car's light sensor detects low light, it automatically switches on the headlights and the car's display to mode (at least my 2016 Avalon does that). I'm wondering why the Minix can't behave the same way as my car does?
 

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charliemac1467399 said:
I get your point but you're not entirely correct. Monitors only output display. The Minix is not just a display, it's interactive. When dark mode is set to "Automatic" on Google Maps in Android Auto, it relies on the hardware of your vehicle, which in this case happens to be the Minix device. In a previous Android Auto version, there was an option to select between "Vehicle controlled" and "Phone controlled" dark mode in developer mode but Google later removed it. When you car's light sensor detects low light, it automatically switches on the headlights and the car's display to mode (at least my 2016 Avalon does that). I'm wondering why the Minix can't behave the same way as my car does?
Click to expand...
Our device is not a "car", it's a screen, and it doesn't have its own system, so it's phone-controlled.
I believe you are talking about the day/night mode of maps, and the "automatic" option in Android phones has been a hit or miss for years;
only Google can fix it.

1775806986315.webp

This is really not something we can control or fix. Please understand.

Making it controllable by our display's brightness level sounds interesting, but it is technically not feasible.
 
MINIX - Ken said:
Our device is not a "car", it's a screen, and it doesn't have its own system, so it's phone-controlled.
I believe you are talking about the day/night mode of maps, and the "automatic" option in Android phones has been a hit or miss for years;
only Google can fix it.

View attachment 5526

This is really not something we can control or fix. Please understand.

Making it controllable by our display's brightness level sounds interesting, but it is technically not feasible.
Click to expand...
I was really hoping it could be done through a firmware upgrade but I understand. Thanks for letting me know it's not possible.
 
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